Mechanisms of transcriptional regulation in the germline of primitive chordate species

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K07071
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Developmental biology
• Research Institution: Tohoku University
• Principal Investigator: Kumano Gaku 東北大学, 生命科学研究科, 教授 (80372605)
• Co-Investigator(Renkei-kenkyūsha): NAKAMOTO Ayaki 東北大学, 大学院生命科学研究科, 助教 (40738100)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: 生殖細胞系列 / 母性局在因子 / 転写制御 / ホヤ

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In animal development germline is segregated from the somatic lineage to maintain its totipotency and ability to be inherited thorough next generations. Transcriptional regulation in the germline is known to play a pivotal role for germline cells to maintain these distinct characteristics. In this study, we used a primitive chordate species, Halocynthia roretzi, and found that three maternally localized factors, Pem, PopK-1 and Zf-1, which are inherited by the Halocynthia germline, regulate germline gene expression during its embryogenesis. Specifically, Pem and Popk-1 suppress somatic gene expression during early embryogenesis while Pem and Zf-1 regulate the timing for the onset of germline gene expression. We also used other closely related primitive chordate species to compare the mechanisms of transcriptional regulation in the germline and found that even among the closely-related species the mechanisms can be different.

Free Research Field

発生生物学